Vestas Posts Net Profit Rise But Cautions on Trade Wars, Tariffs and Competition

   By Dominic Chopping

Vestas Wind Systems AS (VWS.KO) on Wednesday posted a rise in full-year net profit and raised its dividend but cautioned that trade wars, tariffs and competition held back profitability.

"The industry still faces major challenges and impediments caused by trade wars and tariffs," the company said.

"In 2019, industry rules changed, the cost of raw materials and transport went up, and capacity became limited. Combined with the industry's continued competitiveness, these factors led to an increase in the profitability required to sustain technological development"

The Danish wind-turbine maker reported a full-year net profit attributable to shareholders of 704 million euros ($777.9 million), up from EUR684 million a year earlier but missing an analysts' consensus of EUR724 million according to a FactSet poll.

Revenue rose 20% to EUR12.15 billion compared with the consensus view of EUR11.81 billion, as orders reached a record high.

The earnings before interest and tax margin before special items fell to 8.3% from 9.5%.

For the fourth quarter, revenue rose 38% to EUR4.65 billion while order intake rose to EUR3.5 billion. Full-year order intake rose 30% to EUR13.8 billion, with the total order backlog standing at EUR33.8 billion.

For 2020, Vestas expects revenue of between EUR14 billion and EUR15 billion, with an EBIT margin before special items of 7%-9%. Total investments are seen at EUR700 million.

The company raised its dividend to DKK7.93 from DKK7.44.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 05, 2020 03:51 ET (08:51 GMT)

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